The Fraser Institute’s “Generosity Index” for 2025 revealed that a scant 0.52% of all income is being donated to charities. To add to this, the percentage of tax-filing Canadians that donate to charity has dropped dramatically in just a decade, from an already miserly 21.9% in 2013 to just 16.8% in 2023.
Manitoba stands at the top of the paltry hill, with 18.7% of tax-filers donating. Nunavut takes home the provincial Scrooge award, with only 5.1% of tax-filers giving some of their income to charity.
“What is most striking about these trends is that the extent of charitable giving fell in every Canadian jurisdiction” explained the authors of the report. They also noted that Americans give more than twice as much of their aggregate income to charity.
The Globe and Mail’s Jason Kirby wrote that:
“between 2013 and 2023 the national net worth of households soared by 50 per cent after adjusting for inflation, owing to real estate and stock market gains, according to an analysis of Statscan’s balance sheet data.”
In other words, this precipitous generosity drop isn’t simply because Canadians are becoming poorer – overall we are wealthier, at least on paper.
The worldview implications beneath this story become clear when combined with a report from Imagine Canada that found that 9 out of 10 charitable donors attend a religious service weekly. Scripture tells us that “we love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Christians understand that everything belongs to God, and the possessions He gives us are not ours to keep but ours to steward. Because He loved us, we love those around us, and demonstrate this love also in our charitable giving.
Enjoyed this article?
Get the best of RP delivered to your inbox every Saturday for free.